Assassination games

Spoilers ahead for Game of Thrones, season 8, episode 1, “Winterfell.” Strip Game of Thrones of the sex, violence, and supernatural horror, and what’s left? Chinese fans of the show are finding out, as they’re watching a version of the series that’s been censored by the government. Many say the censored version of Game of Thrones they have ready access to is more like a mundane “medieval documentary” with disjointed plot points. HBO’s Chinese partner, Tencent, has the rights to distribute Game of Thrones in China, but to respect local laws, it cut nearly six minutes of the season 8 premiere, “Winterfell.” Most of what was cut was pretty standard, including the nudity when Bronn spends time with three women before Qyburn summons him and the violence when Theon rescues his sister Yara. But one particularly crucial scene was cut from the premiere: when Ned Umber’s body is found pinned to a creepy sigil on the wall that the … [Read more...] about Chinese censorship made Game of Thrones a “medieval documentary”

And Now Our Watch Is Ending Text by Isaac FeldbergDesign and development by Patrick GarvinPhotos courtesy of HBO April 10, 2019 Asking a “Game of Thrones” fan what’s happened so far on the HBO fantasy epic is like asking a Christian what you missed in both the Old and New Testaments. Yes, the short and correct answer is just “fire, sex, murder, and the occasional resurrection,” but let them elaborate any further than that, and you’ll be there all day.As “Thrones” enters its endgame Sunday, even die-hard fans could use a refresher on the past seven seasons, to remember who killed who, which alliances are going strong, and whose flings wouldn’t fly in all but three U.S. states (hint: most of them).Some background: 17 years ago, Robert Baratheon rebelled against the Targaryen dynasty, seizing control of Westeros and exiling Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen across the Narrow Sea. When Robert’s adviser Jon Arryn dies suspiciously, … [Read more...] about What happened on ‘Game of Thrones,’ seasons 1-7

IO Interactive has today taken the wraps of a brand new mode coming to Hitman 2 when it launches in November. Ghost Mode brings multiplayer to the ever-popular assassination game, introducing a new and unique take on taking out targets with a friend. Ghost Mode pits you and another player against each other in a race to take out targets. The winner is the first to score five points, of which a point can be achieve by killing the target first without your opponent also killing the target. The kill must also be silent, meaning no-one can see you do it for the point to count. Each player exists in the same level as the other, meaning you can see your opponent running around and doing things in game. However, each player's "reality" is unique to them, meaning the target, all other AI, and objects are different for each players game. Both players begin side-by-side, and you can follow each other around. You cannot interact with each other, but you can mess with the other players game. … [Read more...] about Hitman 2’s new Ghost Mode brings multiplayer to the assassin’s game

Tech & Science Fallout 76 Gaming Fallout 76 is offering players the chance to do something they’ve never been able to do in a Fallout game before: grief their fellow man. I learned this firsthand at a demo event, when I maliciously and relentlessly tormented someone from US Gamer (sorry!) and even helped tag team kill Xbox’s Major Nelson. Despite the obvious cathartic benefits of literally killing my real-world competition, what I really enjoyed about PVP in Fallout 76 was how fair it felt. “What we found is that the griefer actually becomes content for other people in this game,” Chris Mayer, development director for Fallout 76 , told Newsweek. “In other games I've played it's been the opposite where the griefers consume other people as content.” Bethesda Game Studios PVP starts with a duel challenge. Basically, you shoot players for next to no damage and they can decide to engage with you or not. If they do, their return shot is … [Read more...] about ‘Fallout 76’ PVP Explained: Pip Boy Assassins Game One Of Many Modes, Say Devs

caption The open world of “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” is huge, but not always impressive. source “Assassin’s Creed Odysessy”/Ubisoft “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” launched on October 5th for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. It’s the 11th game in the flagship franchise from publisher Ubisoft. Set in ancient Greece, the game lets you choose between a male or female protagonist for the first time in “Assassin’s Creed” series history. The open world in Odyssey might be the largest in any game to date; the main campaign takes about 30 hours to finish. “Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey” is the first game in the series I’ve ever put any serious time into, and yet, it feels like I’ve played it before. “Odyssey” takes lots of cues from other big-ticket action games, fully adopting a huge open world and RPG mechanics that have become standard for the genre. But … [Read more...] about ‘Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’ has a gorgeous, massive open world. But actually playing it just feels like more of the same.